Effectiveness of Various Medications on Post Operative Pain of Vital Teeth after Root Canal Therapy

Background: Postoperative pain following root canal therapy is of concern for endodontic patients and dentists. Despite the fact that the pain relief afforded by endodontic is effective, it is rarely immediate and complete. The purpose of this double blind study was to compare the efficacy of betamethasone, indomethacin, ibuprofen, used commonly to control post endodontic pain or a placebo.

Materials and Methods: This randomized, double blind, placebo controlled study included 100 patients with symptomatic, vital and one canal tooth. Patients were randomly allocated into one of the four groups to receive treatment three times a day with ibuprofen (400 mg), betamethasone (2 mg), indomethacin (75 mg) or placebo following completion of root canal treatment. The patients recorded pain intensity on a special chart (visual analogue scale) at time intervals of 6, 12, 24, and 48 hours after treatment. ANOVA and t-test was used to determine statistical significance. p-value<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: In the placebo group, the mean pain score was significantly higher than in all the groups in different time after treatment. In the ibuprofen group, patients experienced significantly more pain than in the indomethacin and betamethasone groups, in 6 and 12 hours after treatment but the difference was not significant in 24 and 48 hours. The mean pain score was not significant difference between indomethacin and betamethasone group.

Conclusion: The results demonstrate that the betamethasone and indomethacin may be more effective than ibuprofen for the management of postoperative pain after nonsurgical endodontic treatment when patients present with moderate to severe pain.